The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe.

Commodore Garrett Jesse Pendergrast was an American naval officer who served in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and as part of the Brazil Squadron and Home Squadron. He served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. He commanded the USS Cumberland during the loss of the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia to Confederate forces and captured 16 Confederate ships in the early stages of the Union blockade. He served as commander of the Philadelphia Navy Yard from October 1861 until his death in November 1862.